Raekwon To Reissue "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx" On Vinyl For 25th Anniversary

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Recording artists Ghostface Killah (L) and Raekwon pose backstage during day 1 of the 2015 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival (Weekend 1) at the Empire Polo Club on April 10, 2015 in Indio, California.
Raekwon's debut album turns 25 this weekend.

Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx remains one of the most influential bodies of work in hip-hop culture, ever. Raekwon, with the assistance of Ghostface Killah, delivered a body of work that led the way for gangsta rap to grow a life of its own. Saturday will mark the 25th year anniversary of its release. The iconic debut from the Wu-Tang member will be reissued along with all of the RZA-produced instrumentals on vinyl to commemorate its release.

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While a vinyl re-issue is on the way, Raekwon recently detailed that the previously announced documentary is also "around the corner" from being completed. The rapper explained to Variety that he initially wanted this album to be accompanied by a film, though the label didn't even entertain it.

"Instead of doing separate music videos, I wanted to do a 45- or 30-minute movie to the music, and basically paint a picture one time for the world. I did speak on that with the label, and when I talked about it they laughed at me," he said about the one thing he wishes he could've done with the album before divulging on details surrounding the documentary.

"Oh, listen, we’re working on a super-big documentary about this album, which is right around the corner from being completed," he continued. "It’s called The Purple Tape Files, and it’s called that because it addresses some of the issues we overlooked back then that we felt should’ve been incorporated with the album. It’s gonna be an interesting documentary, and the timing couldn’t be better."


About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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